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Monday Morning H-Back

Well, that was some ending, eh? A big drive ties the score, then the Redskins allow the winning field goal as the clock expires. Well, first things first.

This wasn't a team worthy of being in the playoffs or capable of doing any damage there, which means that losing Sunday and getting an easier schedule and higher draft picks is better for the long term.

There's no reason to dissect every nuance of the game, but certain tendencies again came to the fore. The defense has not been good enough in the fourth quarter and can't get off the field when it must. The final drive was a repeat of the final six weeks or so. The players seemed to age big time as the season wore on. Other than a few picks from DeAngelo Hall, the younger guys didn't make plays.

The Skins had trouble running the ball and stopping the run. Again, you can't win like that, not doing it week after week.

Clinton Portis couldn't get it done in the second half of the season, with his body breaking down again. The aging offensive line didn't help, but when you're paid to be the bell cow, you can't fumble at crucial times, again, while picking up three yards per carry, again. The passing game needed a lift from the running game in the second half of the season, and it never came.

Portis's dwindling production in the second half of the season - hardly an anomaly - should be a concern for the organization, and I know it is for the coaches. But they don't call the shots and they didn't guarantee Portis's contract through 2010, so that seems to be a moot point.

Anyway, here's a look at Portis's longest runs in the final five games:

Those are pretty alarming numbers. Over the final five games, Portis ran 98 times for 281 yards, an average of 2.9 per carry. Jim Zorn tried to lean on the guy and go to him, and was feeding him with the lead Sunday. Then Portis turned over the ball and the game began slipping away.

Portis ran 155 times for 513 yards in the second half of the season, an average of just 3.30, with a single TD (from a yard out). This, after averaging 5 yards per carry with seven TDs in the first eight games (and rushing for 940 yards).

Ports hasn't been the same back at the end of the season since 2005, the last time he was truly healthy, before the knee and shoulder surgeries led to even more arthroscopies and injuries. He's not a home run hitter, and that's what this point-starved offense needs.

As for the passing game, on the last play of the season James Thrash was on the field ahead of the The Lost Boys - Devin Thomas, Fred Davis and Malcolm Kelly. That's your season right there. That trio combined for 18 catches and no TDs. That must change next season or Jason Campbell will be doomed. Heck, the offense would be doomed, as well and perhaps so would Zorn.

The Skins did not have three offensive TDs in a game after Week 3. When teams adjusted to them, the coaching staff had no answers and no one else stepped up. Double Santana Moss on first down, double Chris Cooley on third down, play the run on second down. It's fairly easy to figure out.

The Redskins don't have the ability to do too much more at skill positions and will sink or swim with Vinny Cerrato's draft class. They need a lot of help on defense, and with Portis and Cooley and most of the offensive line making big bucks, they've made their bed there.

If protected and developed properly, I think Campbell can be a very good QB. He made huge strides in protecting the football, being accurate and using his feet. Another season in this system should help. But he needs playmakers, true matchup problems, and more than two wide receivers he can trust. Having more than two seconds to get rid of the ball would help, too.

As for the defense, there were too few takeaways and big plays, but we already knew that. There was no pass rush .. and we knew that. When Andre Carter leads your team with four sacks, that's a problem. That's the lowest total in franchise history and must be one of the lowest totals to lead any team in a long while. A decent end who plays every down should stumble into three or four sacks. (Jason Taylor walked into 3½).

And when you couple the lack of a pass rushing thrust with outside linebackers who are either small or broken down or in the process of breaking down, it's doubly problematic. The 49ers were attacking Rocky McIntosh Sunday, and H.B. Blades is just not big enough to play outside or to cover tight ends.

As for the secondary, it is generally the strength of the team, but it seems more and more likely that Carlos Rogers will be shopped around this offseason. The Redskins will make every attempt to keep DeAngelo Hall from hitting the market, Shawn Springs, perhaps, will stick around, but Fred Smoot had a subpar season all around, heightened by being exploited Sunday. I'm not sure he's back.

Cerrato wants more draft picks, but he has precious little of value to peddle. Beyond Rogers, maybe Ladell Betts fits the bill. (Perhaps they plan to draft a running back by the third or fourth; I'd be careful banking on Portis for 16 games next season).

The team also needs to see what Chad Rinehart can do, and I'd let Pete Kendall go. You have to get younger at some point, and with Randy Thomas and Jon Jansen probably on their last year here, why not start at left guard? Stephon Heyer wasn't great Sunday - far from it - but they need to give him a run of 8-10 games in which to find out what they've got. I'm not sure he's a starter, but they should take a good, long look first.

The bottom line is that this probably isn't a one-year fix. And since they kids barely played this season, for the most part (especially at the positions of greatest need), the youth movement needs to start at some point. If they want to go after every free agent again, so be it.

I'd probably target one guy: Tennessee's Albert Haynesworth. While I worry that having a ton of money might affect his effort, he is someone to build a defense around - when he's motivated. The team then could draft perimeter defenders. On offense, the Redskins could play Heyer and Rinehart and Kelly and Davis and Thomas over and over to see what they have. (And someone young and explosive should be returning punts, anyone other than Antwaan Randle El).

It may turn out that the kids (or some of them) are not good enough and that would be squarely on Cerrato. But right now, this is where the team is. One offseason likely won't change things; two or three smart and shrewd offseasons in a row and maybe this sleeping giant will finally awake.

...

The last MMHB of the year ends with some season awards. I'm not giving out an offensive MVP, because there wasn't one. When the season was on the line, they had no offense to speak of. Nothing.

On defense, the winner is London Fletcher, who slowed in the second half and frankly shocked me with a lot of stuff that came out of his mouth about the Pro Bowl and the Hall of Fame a few weeks back but is unquestionably the heart of this talent-starved defense.

On special teams, long-time readers know it takes a lot to knock me off my Rock Cartwright kick, and no one else came close. His tackles were down, but when his teammates were the most lifeless - against Baltimore and Cincy as well as Sunday at San Fran - Cartwright was slamming those kick returns and doing anything possible to lift the others. That's being a teammate and a leader. That's football.

Move JZ to OC and bring in Ron Rivera as Head Coach. Dumb, new rookie HC=8-8 at best
Declare a true, all out QB competition in camp between JC and Colt.Dumb, Colts still not there
Nuke the whole starting OL. Dumb, three of these guys are still playable
Get a quick scat/3rd down/punt,kick returner back to compliment Portis and Betts. Someone that can scare a defense. Bye bye Rock, it's been nice. Dumb, no 3rd back is going to scare anyone ever

Coach up the rookie wideouts and Fred Davis then cut ARE(gladly), Thrash(sadly), and Yoder.Dumb, actually this is not dumb but I had a thing going

Nuke 30% of DL; Taylor, Carter, Griffin, gone.I think you offer them to stay for less or go to market
Add two young, fast LBs with Fletcher.
Move Springs to FS or cut him. Keep the rest of DBs. I think you cut smoot
Hire my wife to punt and kick. She's better than those turds.
Posted by: kone | December 29, 2008 7:33 AM | Report abuse

frankly he showed me nothing but I *think* he could handle OC. he's in WAY over his head as HC - he knows it too btw. he has a good pedigree as both a player and coach plus is an excellent QB coach, i say reduce his responsibilities and give him 2009.

why wouldn't he accept demotion? if he's canned flat-out he'll be lucky to end up back where he was as QB coach. sometimes you gotta take a step back to take a step up - especially when you took (forced to?) too big a step in the first place!

Can I start the campaign of getting Clinton Portis shipped out of town? I know he really cannot be moved due to his insanley high salary for a running back, but he is an average back. I could name about 15 running backs off the top of my head I would rather have than him. Here-let's give it a try:
Jacobs, Westbrook, Forte, Turner, DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Ronnie Brown, Marion Barber, Tashard Choice, Derrick Ward, A Peterson, Frank Gore, Willie Parker, Thomas Jones, Steven Jackson, Steve Slaton, and I could even start naming some backups that have a better sense of direction than Portis has-starting with Ladell Betts. How many times yesterday did he turn it up into a pile rather than move to open space to the outside for more yards? At least 5 instances that I saw. The guy seeks contact, when he could get more yards in another direction. He just is not that good. I am sick of everyone pretending that he is. He is becoming T.O.-and quickly. I wish we could just trade him back to Denver for a 2nd or 3rd round pick (which we would be lucky to even get for him), but we can't because of that idiotic contract of his. Serenity Now!

As far as "open competition" at QB, I don't understand what this means. Zorn watches the QB's in practice everyday. If he thinks that Colt Brennan gives him a better chance of winning than JC, do you really think he wouldn't wouldn't sit JC and play Colt? There is continuous "open competition" for this and every other job on the team.

That's right, Kohlrums. I agree with you, but I still think Portis is pretty good. The part that gets me is one, his high drama/maintenance; and two, that he thinks he's better than he is, and that there's a reliance on him to deliver more than he can.

Take those two things away, and the insanely high salary, and I'd say keep him.

He's not the problem with this team, but he's indicative of the problems with this team...

He's

1) old and breaking down
2) someone who got all of their production in the 1st half of the season
3) making too much money for too long

You can quote the "4th in the league in rushing" thing until you're blue in the face, but the reality of the situation is that a bunch of teams are running 2 or 3 back systems these days so individual rushing stats are misleading...

The part that gets me is one, his high drama/maintenance; and two, that he thinks he's better than he is, and that there's a reliance on him to deliver more than he can.

Posted by: columbiard | December 29, 2008 8:02 AM |

No, he thinks he's better than WE think he is. During the game last night they compared him to the all-time top running backs and argued that he's likely to end up in the Hall of Fame. And two weeks ago, Peter King made the case that he could end up in the Hall of Fame. That's not too shabby.

No, he thinks he's better than WE think he is. During the game last night they compared him to the all-time top running backs and argued that he's likely to end up in the Hall of Fame. And two weeks ago, Peter King made the case that he could end up in the Hall of Fame. That's not too shabby.

Clinton Portis will not be in the HoF, but that's neither here nor there...

The bottom line is that he's not getting any younger and he's not getting any healthier, and this fanatical devotion to old and busted great players who are past their prime is a big component of this team's problems.

Being complacent with CP, saying "he's not the problem" and not realizing that he's done in 2 years at the max and not coming up with a plan for his replacement is a HUGE mistake.

1) old and breaking down
2) someone who got all of their production in the 1st half of the season
3) making too much money for too long

You can quote the "4th in the league in rushing" thing until you're blue in the face, but the reality of the situation is that a bunch of teams are running 2 or 3 back systems these days so individual rushing stats are misleading...

Posted by: VTDuffman | December 29, 2008 8:06 AM

You can whine about "old and breaking down" and "first half of the season" all day long, but the fact is that even two or three backs running behind this line in the second half of the season wouldn't have done as well as CP. CP's not the problem with the running game when he's running behind Heyer, Kendall, Rabach, Thomas, and Jansen.

You can whine about "old and breaking down" and "first half of the season" all day long, but the fact is that even two or three backs running behind this line in the second half of the season wouldn't have done as well as CP. CP's not the problem with the running game when he's running behind Heyer, Kendall, Rabach, Thomas, and Jansen.

We're having two different arguments.

I agreed with you that he wasn't the problem.

I countered with the fact that he's indicative of the problem, however.

I added that being complacent with him and not planning for his replacement will spell disaster in about 2 years.

Being complacent with CP, saying "he's not the problem" and not realizing that he's done in 2 years at the max and not coming up with a plan for his replacement is a HUGE mistake.

Posted by: VTDuffman | December 29, 2008 8:11 AM

So where do you see the most urgent needs to upgrade among these six players: Portis, Samuel, Jansen, Kendall, Rabach, Thomas? I, personally, would rank Portis as #6. That's why I think he's not the problem.

Denver will NOT fire Shannahan. Also Bengals to cheap to fire Lewis while they owe him money. Also you heard it here first....Marinelli stays HC in motor city.

Portis' contract prohibits cutting/trading him, and he really isn't the problem with the team anyway, however they must rethink how he is used. They need a diversified backfield. They should add a power and speed guy to take at least a third of Clinton's carries.

But I refuse to get lost in the wash of move by move analysis. As long as Snyder/Cerato runs this team, it really doesn't matter. This fish be stinking from the head down. I am not to keen on Zorn, but he is just a patsy here.

You can't use all three. Using two is shaky enough as it is, do that too much and Portis goes crying to the media. can you imagine what would happen if CP had to split the carries three ways?

---------------------------------------
Agreed. That's why you must have a HC that will tell Portis to shut his stinkin pie hole. Other teams are running multiple backs, maybe not three but with injuries you don't stay at three but for a few games anyway. I'd prefer to keep both but if you want, pick one Betts or Portis. Behind that person you need speed.

"This wasn't a team worthy of being in the playoffs or capable of doing any damage there, which means that losing Sunday and getting an easier schedule and higher draft picks is better for the long term."

On the first point: sure they were 'worthy'. The NFL didn't have a dominant club this year (I mean, the Browns clipped the Giants). The Skins are certainly a worthy match for the Dolphins, Eagles, and Vikings, and Cards. As to how they would have done: let's just say they wouldn't be favorites in Vegas.

On the second point, the schedule won't be that much easier (if any) and the draft position won't be that much higher. Plus this looks like one of those draft classes where there isn't that much difference between mid and late first round.

That's the problem with the draft as saviour -- most seasons, most teams don't draft all that well. The big successes are definitely the exception.

Please please please NO HAYNESWORTH! I have seen the original and the sequel (stubblefield/gilbert)

Also I think Portis would be fine sharing the load if its handled the right way, ie actually communicating a vision to him instead of the code of silence that dominates Snyderskins both inside and out of the organization.

That's why you must have a HC that will tell Portis to shut his stinkin pie hole.

You're never going to have a HC here who will be able to do that. Ownership and the FO will choose Portis over the HC every time, and an HC with no backing from upstairs has no position to tell the team's highest paid player to "shut up."

Portis was fourth in the league in rushing yardage and he's not the team's offensive MVP?

The team finished 8-8. What do you think the record would have been without Portis?

Posted by: talent_evaluator

Come on t e, do you really want the Portis of the last 8 games to be leading your team? Exactly what was his contribution over the last 8 games that thrilled you, that said that he is our most valuable player? He basically said "Feed me the ball" or I will be having a little talk with my friend Danny. And so he got fed the ball and put in a whopping 3 yards per carry average. This team would have been better over the last eight games if Portis was on the bench for 3/4 of each game.

They're putting it on Gibbs.
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Agreed. and to The Danny Gibbs=Jesus. JC is going to be given EVERY opportunity to prove Danny/Vinnie/Gibbs were right.

Love Gibbs but I'm convinced his main reason for quitting wasn't the family thing. He knew what he had on this team and he also knew he caught lightning in a bottle last year (Collins' play, Taylor's death, whatever) and he quickly got out while his HOF reputation was still intact.

You're never going to have a HC here who will be able to do that. Ownership and the FO will choose Portis over the HC every time, and an HC with no backing from upstairs has no position to tell the team's highest paid player to "shut up."

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Agreed too. I'm not say what can, or will, happen. I'm saying what should happen or at least what I'd like to see happen. Harbaugh had some tough nuts to crack in Baltimore but he did it. An ownership and FO issue? Absolutely.

That's the main reason I'd like to see Cowher get involved here. Seems like he may have a big enough stick to say, "gimme my money and the team and get out of the freakin way".

I can't believe you guys are trying to lay blame on CP. CP is willing to give it all up for this team and ends up destroying his body in the first half of the season because we have an ancient OL.

Lets try something new this off season. NO NEW "SKIll POSITION" PLAYERS. We should focus on building the core of the team which is the OL and DL. If we did that, we would be amazed at the sudden improvement of our "skill" players.

Take a look at the NYG. A great OL and DL and a bunch of average guys playing behind them that look great because of the talent on both lines.

kone, if you truly think that about Gibbs, then you don't really know anything about the man...

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I don't. Just my opinion. Since you do enlighten me...

I'm not slamming him at all, far from it. He looked around, saw what he had, saw what he had done, threw in the family stuff and the answer was obvious. In his mind he brought the team as far as he could.

"Not getting Davis, Kelly or Thomas involved in this offense was just flat out stupid on Zorn's part. Dumb, just dumb, galactically stupid, throwing the ball to Thrash yesterday was mind boggling."

Actually, Beantown, drafting Davis, Kelly and Thomas was stupid, galactically stupid, mind boggling. This offense had two wide receiver postions open for the taking. The very fact that these kids were not good enough to seize those positions is what you can not get through your head. Do you really think that Zorn is thinking each week "How can I come up with reasons to keep my three best receivers off the field?" Zorn may be a rookie head coach but he has enough time in this league to know when a player is NFL ready or not.

Agreed on Wii sports, also Tiger Woods golf is awesome already picked up some sponsors for my golfer and have him decked out with new clubs.

On the Skins they need a lot, they need a new OC who calls the plays if you are going to use the WCO then install the entire thing non of this hybrid crap. I'm not saying it is the best offense foir this team, I'm saying that it seems to be what they want to run so if that is the case then go all out.

Look, Gibbs is a great man, there are few better, first class all the way. He was a great coach too but the operative word is "was". In his second stint here, he was below average leading the football side of the organization and I agree with Riggins that a lot of the blame for where this organization is has to placed as Gibbs' feet. Assuming that is what Riggins is saying - I didn't hear it.

kone, Gibbs left for the reasons he said he left, and nothing else. He's not the type to duck and run because he thinks things are gonna get rough....you've got him pegged incorrectly if you think that.

riley, have you seen this offense?? Moss, Cooley, Portis, and then punt. Not getting the rookies involved was to the teams DETRIMENT. They didn't work out because they never were used properly. Thomas got 1 ball thrown his way yesterday. After running for a TD against the giants how often have they tried to get the ball in his hands, in ANY WAY?? Davis got the ball thrown to him NUNCE yesterday. Not ONE TIME. But somehow thats ok, having an offense that sucks, and is predictable is ok??

(referring to Campbell) "But he needs playmakers, true matchup problems, and more than two wide receivers he can trust. Having more than two seconds to get rid of the ball would help, too."

This BS. He has Playmakers in Cooley and Moss at times. Cooley is a Matchup problem and two WR you can trust? Does D. McNabb have more than two WR's he can trust? LBM have more than two WRs? It's excuses for Campbell. He's been making some plays with his feet but none, none with his arm.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, NO player on the field can affect the game like the QB so if the O sucks it has more to do with him than anyone.

Gibbs left for the reasons he said he left, and nothing else. He's not the type to duck and run because he thinks things are gonna get rough....you've got him pegged incorrectly if you think that.
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So be it. I obviously won't be able to talk him down off your pedestal but I think that's BS. He analyzed ALL the factors then made the decision that was right for him; just like we all do. It does not take anything away from him to say he got the Redskins to the playoffs and realized that, at his age, in the current NFL, he concluded it was the best he could do. Oh, and also, there are some who will argue that he did a "duck and run" the first time he retired. Remember?

Gibbs left this team better off than how he found it that is for sure. It's cap problems weren't as bad, it had made the playoffs twice in 3 years (One more time than the previous 13 years without him)

Was he perfect? No. But I think anyone would be hard pressed to find reasons why this team is worse off after Gibbs.

MARINELLI OUT
Posted by Mike Florio on December 29, 2008, 9:06 a.m. EST
A day after completing the first 0-16 season in NFL history, Lions coach Rod Marinelli has gotten his parting gift.

Literally.

Jay Glazer of FOX and Adam Schefter of NFL Network report that the Lions have fired Marinelli.

Marinelli was 10-38 in three years on the job. When hired in 2006, Marinelli was touted highly by various voices in the media, even though he’d never previously been so much as interviewed for a head-coaching job.

We can point to a million things wrong with this team. I am a lifelong SKINS fan and I am all knowing so I will offer my football and general manager experience to this blog

SICWIDIT'S RANT-O-THE-DAY

1) No talent on offense...Portis is a top back but for how long? As a real GM, I keep him but restructure his role. Why you would continue to smash him in between the tackles is beyond me. You need more of a two or three back system now more than ever with this team. Also, we've spoiled him so it's harder now to put muzzle on him. My buddy Parcells would get rid of him regardless of the cap hit, that's why they're 11-5.

2)Look to our defense for our answer on offense. C'mon people...it's not secret why this team is consistently good on defense every year. THEY HAVE TALENT AND THEY PLAY ALL THEIR PLAYERS...ROOKIES, VETS ALL OF THEM. They have young talent in (Hall, Horton, Golston, Montgomery mixed in with veteran talent) The have players that offenses have to account for. The have talent in the pipeline, but my only beef is that they have no game-changers on the the D-line. We thought we had one in JT but we don't. The offense keeps it rookies on the shelf and opts to play thirtysomethings every week. No one is scared of Thrash, Randle-El, a beat up Portis, Kendall, Jansen, or Cambpell with this personnel. I place the blame for this on Cerrato, Zorn and Bugel. Buges admitted in yesterday's post that he is partial to the older players, which is Gibbs philosophy. You cannot win with this O-Line or corps of receivers.

3) As a GM, I must advise Dan to bring in a football guy. Vinny may be o.k., but look at the success of other team. The Dolphins, Falcons and Baltimore are getting younger and finding a way to maximize their young talent.

"When the season was on the line, they had no offense to speak of. Nothing."

Give it to JC's legs. They did one hell of a job the last few games. A lone bright spot. Makes me think JC has the potential (*potential*, mind you) to be a Randall Cunningham. Deep pass threat, great improviser, and a pretty good punter. Okay, well, JC can't do that last one.

Gibbs left this team better off than how he found it that is for sure. It's cap problems weren't as bad, it had made the playoffs twice in 3 years (One more time than the previous 13 years without him)

Was he perfect? No. But I think anyone would be hard pressed to find reasons why this team is worse off after Gibbs.

Posted by: Gweez | December 29, 2008 9:12 AM | Report abuse

I'll take this one....

Gibbs gets too much of a pass with this team. Gibbs was the President of the team, so I lay a lot of this on him. Yeah we eeked out two playoff appearances, the problem is he overcommitted to veteran players and (allong with Dan and Vinny) allowed this team to get old. They always thought they were one player away. Gibbs didn't play young players and didn't value the draft.

"Jesus Joe" Gibbs gets some of this blame too. This is the same mediocre team his came in with in 2004.

Gibbs gets too much of a pass with this team. Gibbs was the President of the team, so I lay a lot of this on him. Yeah we eeked out two playoff appearances, the problem is he overcommitted to veteran players and (allong with Dan and Vinny) allowed this team to get old. They always thought they were one player away. Gibbs didn't play young players and didn't value the draft.

"Jesus Joe" Gibbs gets some of this blame too. This is the same mediocre team his came in with in 2004.
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ding, ding, ding.

Gibbs gets too much of a pass with this team. Gibbs was the President of the team, so I lay a lot of this on him. Yeah we eeked out two playoff appearances, the problem is he overcommitted to veteran players and (allong with Dan and Vinny) allowed this team to get old. They always thought they were one player away. Gibbs didn't play young players and didn't value the draft.

"Jesus Joe" Gibbs gets some of this blame too. This is the same mediocre team his came in with in 2004.

Posted by: rickyroge | December 29, 2008 9:18 AM | Report abuse

I'm not into canonizing Joe but can you say this team is worse off? Is it better off? Was our Cap situation better off? Was our win/loss better off? Was our stability better off? I have to answer yes to all those.

Could he have done a better job? Yes of course he could have but don't tell me we are worse off for having Gibbs when he was handed a team from Steve Spurrier.

I dunno about the FO guy, but I could see Spaggs as a great choice for HC. Bringing in a coordinator from the Giants (knows the area and what type of ball works in that cities weather and stuff, I think that is greatly undervalued).

I really don't get why people are talking like they want Carlos Rogers gone. Him and DHall in the backfield for years could be a great foundation for one of the best secondaries in the league, FOR YEARS. He's young and talented, that's JUST what this football team needs.

First Leigh Torrence, now this!?! Joking, but seriously, why would you wanna get rid of him? DHall will regress next year, and Carlos will stay the stable, very good corner he is who drops a buncha picks.

And why do we even wanna break up our secondary? I like Rogers, Hall, and Smoot back there, and Springs. We have probably THE worst pass rush in the league and look how our D has performed overall. That's because of the secondary. That's the last place on the team we should be looking to make changes.

A tandem running attack distinguished most of the division team leaders from the mediocre teams. We need to incorporate other players more into the running game, or get another back, or something.
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100% completely agree but very tough to do w/ Portis. Takes a HC with gonads and a FO supporting him.

A tandem running attack distinguished most of the division team leaders from the mediocre teams. We need to incorporate other players more into the running game, or get another back, or something.
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100% completely agree but very tough to do w/ Portis. Takes a HC with gonads and a FO supporting him.

riley, agree to disagree on the pass catchers. So Moss and Cooley are always open, and always run a perfect route? Sorry, I'm not buying that.

Posted by: BeantownGreg

Moss and Cooley are usually double covered.
Which should leave single coverage on the second WR, but since ARE is not a legimate second WR and the alternatives have not been able to even beat him out that leaves us with a non productive passing game. Cerrato drafted those guys to have an impact in 2008. It is their responsibiliy to beat out the incumbent players at their positions. Their failure to do so speaks volumes about their ability to contribute.

I haven't heard anyone in the media point out how stupid it was for the Redskins to call an immediate timeout on 4th down with a little over a minute left. We could have run a bunch of time off the clock. Or more likely, we could have forced a San Fran timout. This easily could have been the difference in the game! And it probably was Zorn's mistake. And apparently no one has noticed it.
Thanks.

There's a whole lot of stupid on the Redskins Insider Blog. A few things:

1. Holy hell, give Jim Zorn more than one season.
2. Holy hell version 2.0, give Vinny Cerrato more than one draft with the keys to the organization.
3. Holy hell version 3.0, give Jason Campbell more than one season in the West Coast offense. How did Matt Hasselbeck do in his first season with Jim Zorn's offense??
4. Holy hell version 4.0, give our rookie WRs another season before labeling them "busts". DeSean Jackson and Eddie Royal are the exceptions, not the rule. The lights don't come on for most WRs until the THIRD season. So be patient.

And what is with all the people that say "we are a few draft picks, a few free agent signings from nothing but MEDIOCRITY". Oh man that makes my blood boil. Do you guys have any idea how quickly fortunes change for franchises in the NFL? Look no further than the Ravens, Dolphins and Falcons. If those teams can go from 5-11, 1-15 and 4-12 respectively to playoff teams, there's no reason the Redskins can't go from 8-8 to 11-5 or even better next year.

The sky is not falling; the Redskins are not one of the league's perennial doormats. We've had just one losing campaign in the past four seasons. Get a grip people. Yes I understand that we demand more (I certainly do) but we have to give the Jim Zorn regime ample time.

And I don't want to hear any "Colt Brennan is the future of the franchise" nonsense either. Okay I am done now.

Posted by: honed | December 29, 2008 1:22 AM | Report abuse

Thank you. Although I am all for firing Vinny if he doesn't get this draft right (i.e., line heavy). His first time around wasn't exactly star-studded either.